The present invention relates to an infusion device having a winged body with a needle projecting from the body generally at right angles in combination with a safety guard for capturing or encapsulating the needle after use to prevent needlestick injuries.
Needlestick injuries have been a common and recurring source of concern among medical practitioners because of the danger of transmission of various viruses, including HIV and Hepatitis B. Injuries to medical practitioners typically occur after the medication has been injected into the patient and before the needle has been rendered safe or placed in a sharps container. Many and various devices have been proposed and constructed in the past for protecting medical practitioners from needlestick injuries. Most such protective devices have been proposed and constructed for use with a conventional syringe where the needle projects axially from an end of the syringe barrel. For example, various types of sheaths have been proposed for capturing the needle or at least sheathing the tip of the needle after use. Other alternatives in conjunction with syringes of this type have provided various mechanisms for withdrawing the needle into the syringe barrel after use, thus using the barrel as the protective sheath to prevent the needlestick injury. However, while substantial effort has been made to protect against needlestick injuries when using conventional syringes, commensurate effort has not been made to protect against needlestick injuries when using an angled-needle infusion device.
An angled-needle infusion device generally includes a body having flexible wings projecting laterally from the body with a needle projecting generally at right angles to the body and the wings. The needle lies in communication with a fluid line carried by the body, and is typically coupled to an intravenous set. Conventionally, there is muscular tissue or a receiving port embedded under the patient's skin having a septum for receiving the needle. By grasping the wings of the angled-needle infusion device and flexing them upwardly, the needle can be directed into the septum or subcutaneous tissue and secured in place, for example, by taping the device to the patient's skin. Once infusion is complete, and the tape removed, the wings are again grasped and the needle is withdrawn. It is at this stage that the contaminated needle is exposed and the possibility of a needlestick injury is extant.
As noted previously, the effort to avoid needlestick injuries has been very broadly and primarily directed to preventing such injuries when using conventional syringes and comparable effort has not been directed to preventing such injuries when using an angled-needle infusion device. One such effort to safeguard an angled-needle infusion device has included a removable guard such as described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,843, issued Dec. 9, 1986. Essentially, this requires applying the cap to the needle body to encase the needle. However, the needle and guard require manipulation by two hands and, hence, does not eliminate the danger of a needlestick injury when applying the guard to the needle. A further example of this type of guard is described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,058, which suffers from the same deficiency. Accordingly, there is a need for a guard for an angled-needle infusion device which will substantially minimize or eliminate the danger of a needlestick injury during use.